Australia - 3 dead after eating wild mushrooms, Leongatha, Victoria, Aug 2023 #9 *Arrest*

[Spectrix]

I believe Simon pulled out the day before, by text at 6.54pm. Erin replied a few minutes later with "I've spent many hours this week preparing lunch or (?for) tomorrow". There was no mention of having constructed the beef wellingtons at that point. I don't think we know at what point they were put together, or the mushroom paste made, or the pastry closed over sealing both the pasties and the fate of the 4 who ate the tainted ones.

To me, it's quite plausible that they were constructed after this conversation and she did not make one specifically for Simon. Maybe she spread the tainted mushrooms across 4 pasties instead of 5, making them more potent and ensuring she had no death cap powder left over.

I agree, she probably left constructing them to the next day, shortly before the lunch. I seem to remember someone on the true crime group suggesting that even if the ingredients were prepared earlier, that the wellingtons should be put together last to avoid the pastry going soggy, which makes sense. They only take around 45 minutes in the oven to cook.
Perhaps she had a spare clean one unsealed that she could sprinkle the mushroom powder on last minute if Simon turned up.

It was mentioned both by the mushroom expert and by Erin herself that the dried (deathcap) mushrooms would have a strong smell, which is why I think it makes sense that they were powdered and added over the duxelles before sealing each one, rather than to another dish where the smell might be detected.
Alternatively she may have just rehydrated the chopped deathcaps to make a separate batch of duxelles. Red bowl for poison duxelles, white bowl for clean duxelles, or some such.

We don't which, but the powdered theory came about because she'd posted in the crime group about adding dehydrated powdered mushrooms to everything, which I gather was experimentation on her part in the lead up to the main event.

IMO

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I agree, she probably left constructing them to the next day, shortly before the lunch. I seem to remember someone on the true crime group suggesting that even if the ingredients were prepared earlier, that the wellingtons should be put together last to avoid the pastry going soggy, which makes sense. They only take around 45 minutes in the oven to cook.
Perhaps she had a spare clean one unsealed that she could sprinkle the mushroom powder on last minute if Simon turned up.

It was mentioned both by the mushroom expert and by Erin herself that the dried (deathcap) mushrooms would have a strong smell, which is why I think it makes sense that they were powdered and added over the duxelles before sealing each one, rather than to another dish where the smell might be detected.
Alternatively she may have just rehydrated the chopped deathcaps to make a separate batch of duxelles. Red bowl for poison duxelles, white bowl for clean duxelles, or some such.

We don't which, but the powdered theory came about because she'd posted in the crime group about adding dehydrated powdered mushrooms to everything, which I gather was experimentation on her part in the lead up to the main event.

IMO

Yes, she wanted to see if her kids detected them in the muffins IMO.

 

[Bats]

Let's put it this way, I had no reasonable doubt at all that Greg Lynn murdered Russell Hill. Especially due to the horrible way Lynn covered up his actions afterwards. But the jury found reasonable doubt. So there you go.

I think that one was a case of the jury not being "beyond reasonable doubt" rather than the jury finding "reasonable doubt". Subtle difference but ohh so important for the verdict.

Is the defence causing reasonable doubt for anyone at this point?

I think they are doing a good job so far but I also think the prosecution seem to be as well. Extremely hard to make a good judgement when it's halfway through and you're not sitting in the court room.

MOO

 

[JBowie]

I hate to be a killjoy, but I think she's going to get off.

I am hoping that the jurors put her lying to police and medicos, her cover-ups and her hiding of evidence ahead of any mulling over possible motive(s).

Three people died in awful circumstances at the result of her actions. No escaping that.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

rather

How on earth could the jury have stuffed that finding up? Unbelievable.

 

[JBowie]

Maybe the reporters are reporting on how the video was described in court & what was said, which has been reported by several court reporters, all the same or similar.

I've heard it said that there are only 6 media seats in that cramped courthouse and there's a ballot for them. I get the feeling that one reporter writes stuff and everyone else copies it.

Churnalism as opposed to journalism.

 

[drsleuth]

I've heard it said that there are only 6 media seats in that cramped courthouse and there's a ballot for them. I get the feeling that one reporter writes stuff and everyone else copies it.

Churnalism as opposed to journalism.

The others are watching live from an over flow room at the court house

 

[SouthAussie]

I've heard it said that there are only 6 media seats in that cramped courthouse and there's a ballot for them. I get the feeling that one reporter writes stuff and everyone else copies it.

Churnalism as opposed to journalism.

Yes, but there is also court live video set up in a room in Morwell and a room in Melbourne for the media.


There is a larger than usual media presence at the court. The court has set up an overflow room in Morwell and an overflow room in Melbourne to accommodate the media.

‘Mushroom murder’ trial poised to begin - ABC listen

The murder trial of Erin Patterson starts this week. Kristian and Stocky break down the week ahead and what to expect in the courtroom.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drsleuth]

I've heard it said that there are only 6 media seats in that cramped courthouse and there's a ballot for them. I get the feeling that one reporter writes stuff and everyone else copies it.

Churnalism as opposed to journalism.

Why makes you think that??

 

[Spectrix]

Is the defence causing reasonable doubt for anyone at this point?

From where I'm standing, the defence are going to need to do a lot better to cause reasonable doubt.
There are just so many actions and in-actions in Erins behaviour before, during, and after the event that point towards guilt.
The case of Grey Lynn has been brought up, and for that particular case I wouldn't have been surprised if he'd been found not guilty for both deaths, despite my personal thoughts. He was very clever about his story, and while it sounded almost too unlikely to be true, it was still technically plausible.

In Erin's case I feel like she's dug herself a massive hole with being sloppy, lying, changing her story, failing to tie up loose ends etc.

• The fake cancer diagnosis to lure the guests.
• Checking herself out of hospital and refusing to have her kids tested, this makes it crystal clear that she knew she wasn't poisoned and knew the kids weren't poisoned.
• Refusing to admit to foraging mushrooms when asked multiple times, even though she knew early intervention could have saved the lives of her 'beloved ' in-laws.
• The multiple factory resets of phones, swapping SIM cards around, hiding her primary phone somewhere so the cops never found it.
• The hiding of iPads and USB drives that needed a second search warrant and sniffer dogs to uncover.
• Here's another big one - Erin wasn't in hospital sitting by/supporting her in-laws which she claims to love so much and who were "accidentally" poisoned by her cooking. She was off somewhere else hiding evidence and dumping dehydrators.

We're a while a way from hearing the defence's witnesses and 'experts' if they have any, but at this point I really doubt they're going to find a way to explain all of the damning behaviour I've noted above.

-

 

[ch_13]

4. The jury was shown CCTV footage of a woman disposing of a dehydrator at a tip, the Koonwarra Transfer Station And Landfill, on 2 August – four days after the lunch.

"A woman"? Any doubt about who that woman was? Poor court reporting by Adeshola Ore. If it was EP then say it was EP. Makes me wonder if some of these reporters are actually in court.

I think the reporter is just being careful. There are a lot of court cases where the identity of the person in a video is disputed. Unless it's stipulated by both sides that it's Erin, all the reporter can do is describe the footage. The defense may later acknowledge that it's her, or they may try to claim it's some other random person who just happened to look like Erin, drives a similar car and also threw away a dehydrator contaminated with death cap toxin.

Then it becomes the jury's duty to determine the identity of the person in the video, so it's not something the reporter can presume. (Especially with sub judice laws in effect.)

 

[Spectrix]

I've heard it said that there are only 6 media seats in that cramped courthouse and there's a ballot for them. I get the feeling that one reporter writes stuff and everyone else copies it.

Churnalism as opposed to journalism.

Why makes you think that??

I've noticed that in many of the articles in different publications, that paragraphs are being copied verbatim. There's a lot of sharing going on and it makes sense if it's a tiny courthouse, even if a break out room has been set up for some of the extras. It's a very high profile case.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

hmm but there were no pathogens found in the stool test and the vomiting and diarrhoea were not observed, only self reported by someone who seems to have a problem with truth.

And she was drinking a lot of coffee as well

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I've noticed that in many of the articles in different publications, that paragraphs are being copied verbatim. There's a lot of sharing going on and it makes sense if it's a tiny courthouse.

I don't know if anyone just watched the 9 news, but they're spinning it that no death cap mushrooms were found in the leftovers in Erin's bin & the implication is that she didn't have any.

 

[Spectrix]

I don't know if anyone just watched the 9 news, but they're spinning it that no death cap mushrooms were found in the leftovers in Erin's bin & the implication is that she didn't have any.

It was reported (perhaps falsely) by the ABC during the prosecution's opening that both the dehydrator and the leftovers were found to have poison. Then it was reported today by an expert that the leftovers did not contain poison.

It's easy to see why there's confusion.

 

[Old Soul]

I don't know if anyone just watched the 9 news, but they're spinning it that no death cap mushrooms were found in the leftovers in Erin's bin & the implication is that she didn't have any.

I didn’t watch it but it makes sense.
Erin didn’t eat any death cap beef Wellington and the leftovers in the bin were either from her unfinished portion or any spare beef Wellingtons she made without the poisonous duxelles.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

It was reported (perhaps falsely) by the ABC during the prosecution's opening that both the dehydrator and the leftovers were found to have poison. Then it was reported today by an expert that the leftovers did not contain poison.

It's easy to see why there's confusion.

There was no deathcaps found in the leftovers, but Erin isn't so stupid to have put any contaminated food in her bin.

 

[Spectrix]

hmm but there were no pathogens found in the stool test and the vomiting and diarrhoea were not observed, only self reported by someone who seems to have a problem with truth.

To be fair to Erin, she had (allegedly) just unleashed what she thought was a mastermind plot to kill four or five people and then suddenly found that a lot of questions were being asked. That would have to be pretty anxiety provoking and would probably give just about anyone a case of the runs.

Sounds like she got over it pretty quickly though, given that she managed not to sh.t herself on the three hour round trip to the flying school and back, nor during the almost two hour trip in the ambulance. So it can't have been too bad.

 

[Deleted member 363451]

I didn’t watch it but it makes sense.
Erin didn’t eat any death cap beef Wellington and the leftovers in the bin were either from her unfinished portion or any spare beef Wellingtons she made without the poisonous duxelles.

Yes. I know that, but as I said it's the way that the news was reporting it.

 

[Detechtive]

To be fair to Erin, she had (allegedly) just unleashed what she thought was a mastermind plot to kill four or five people and then suddenly found that a lot of questions were being asked. That would have to be pretty anxiety provoking and would probably give just about anyone a case of the runs.

Sounds like she got over it pretty quickly though, given that she managed not to sh.t herself on the three hour round trip to the flying school and back, nor during the almost two hour trip in the ambulance. So it can't have been too bad.